


And I Fear The Day My Nightmares Become Reality

by angededesespoir



Series: Tumblr Prompt Memes [8]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: (in the dream), Anxiety, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, Nightmares, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Serious Injuries, blood mention, death mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-17
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-11-01 21:15:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10930185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angededesespoir/pseuds/angededesespoir
Summary: Prompt:  “I woke up, & you were gone.”Gabe wakes up from a horrible nightmare.





	And I Fear The Day My Nightmares Become Reality

**Author's Note:**

> _Prompt: “I woke up, & you were gone.” from the [Hurt Meme](http://angededesespoir.tumblr.com/post/158452087040/hurt-meme)._
> 
> _Hey~ I'm back at it again making my own heart ache. *Finger Guns*_
> 
> _(Also on[Tumblr](http://angededesespoir.tumblr.com/post/160770091325/and-i-fear-the-day-my-nightmares-become-reality).)_

When he finally manages to open his eyes, all he can see is a darkness that he cannot trust. Gabe’s heart hammers, breath laboured as he manages to win the fight for control over his limbs and flips his body over.

The space beside him is empty and it fills him with more dread than usual. He sits up, shaking, trying to calm down, to decipher what is real and what is not.

He can’t blot out the image that haunts him- Jack riddled with bullets, bleeding out in his arms, trying to whisper something he can’t quite catch. He watches the life fade from his eyes, his body, and damn if it didn’t- doesn’t feel real.

Before he can stop it, tears are blurring his vision. He rubs at his eyes, tries to suppress them, tries to remind himself that this is nothing more than another nightmare in a long list. It isn’t real. Jack is still alive and relatively well. 

It doesn’t take away the fear that gnaws at him. It doesn’t stop the aching in his chest- a mourning for something that has never happened and God forbid would ever happen.

He still has his head buried in his hands, body shaking, when he feels the bed dip. He jerks his head up, a fresh tear sliding down his cheek. Jack gently squeezes his shoulder, worry in his eyes as he scoots closer to his husband.

“Another nightmare?”

He nods, tears still coming. “I woke up…and you were gone.”

Jack pulls him into an embrace and Gabe’s arms are around him in an instant, clinging to him like he’s afraid he’ll fade away if he lets go. He buries his head into Jack’s shoulder, takes comfort in the realness of the body he rests against, in the softness of the shirt that reeks of an ungodly cologne (the one that Jack always wears for the French president because it was given as a gift) and tinges of sweat and something…..something uniquely Morrison.  
He inhales and lets it help ground him.

"I’m sorry. I should have been here.” Jack kisses his head and he relishes in the small contact. These days, he’ll take anything, especially in this moment. “I’m here now, if you want to talk. Or not. You don’t have to.”

There’s silence for a few seconds, then: “I lost you.”

It’s short and simple and to the point, and yet his voice still cracks. “You were in my arms, bleeding heavily, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.” He squeezes his eyes shut at the memory, tightening his grip on the shirt. Jack waits for him to continue, rubbing his back softly.

“Listen,” Gabe manages. “I know the risks that come with our jobs. I always have. But I don’t want to lose you, Jackie. I’d survive…but I wouldn’t want to.”

It pains Jack to hear him speak those words. He would never want to put his partner through that. And the idea of anyone mourning him...it doesn’t sit right. He feels like no matter how much time he’s allotted, it’ll never be enough. He’ll always fall short. What gives him the right to be mourned when so many who have fought and died for him will go forgotten? And what exactly would the people mourn? Not him, but a crafted image.

Only those closest to him, like his beloved Gabriel, would mourn the real him- faults and all. And he doesn’t want to put them through that.

He thinks about this sometimes; he tries not to think about it now. Gabriel is far more important than he is. He regrets that he can’t spend more time with him, can’t always be there to give him the support he needs.

Jack misses this. Just being able to hold his sunshine in his arms.

He tightens his grip and Gabe follows suit, pressure bruising and yet still not enough. 

“Me, neither. You’re my sun and my stars and my whole God damn world, and I’d be lost without you, Gabe.” He presses a couple of kisses to Gabriel’s jaw, desperate to display the affection they’ve both missed. “I can’t make promises and neither can you. All we can do is try our best and hope everything won’t blow up in our faces.”

Gabriel makes a resigned sound of agreement.

Despite their positions in the world, they only have so much control. And this bothers him. Not simply because of the extra layers of red tape and careful negotiations when it comes to running this organization. No. It bothers him because he can try his hardest, but still fall short, still fail to protect those he loves. 

He shifts to grip his husband’s face between his rough, scarred hands; eyes taking in the sight of forming wrinkles and dulling eyes and greying hair. He’s still just as handsome to him as the day they met; still just as enchanting as the day they wed.

He presses their lips together, a mix of tender and urgent. Neither wants it to stop, but it always does. They pull apart to breathe, noses brushing against eachother.

“Stay, Jackie? Just for a little while, my blue bird?”

This time it’s Jack kissing him, pushing him gently. He lets himself fall back against the pillow, adjusting himself slightly to let Jack rest on top of him, their mouths still working against eachother.

When they part, Jack’s looking into his eyes. “Always,” he whispers. “I’m right here.”

He kisses Gabe’s neck. “I’ll have Athena reschedule the appointments for the day. I just want to be with my Gabi. Just the two of us, for once.”

“You sure we can afford an entire day off?”

There’s a pause, and then Gabriel’s blessed with the sight of one of Jack’s genuine smiles- the kind that he reserves mostly for him. 

“No. But the world won’t fall apart in one day. And you could use a break, right?”

“Both of us,” Gabe replies, smiling back as he runs a hand through Jack’s hair. “We could both use a break.”

“Then lets make the most of it.”

He allows himself to get lost in the warmth- the body sturdy and strong pressed against his; lips and hands searching with a need and a greed as strong as his own. 

He wishes more of his days could be spent like this.

For now, he enjoys the moment before their duties pull them away, again.


End file.
